Mahe

The Seychelles' largest island at the centre of the hundreds that make up the country, Mahe is green, mountainous and charmingly quiet. Travellers to the Seychelles will land here, and it is worth staying a while.

Mahe is a charismatic centre, with colourful Creole culture evident even in the neatly painted homes in Victoria, its tiny capital. Victoria bustles with the business of intricate island life beneath a backdrop of verdant forests and granite outcrops. The rest of the island is quiet, with roads linking each side of the island around the green mountainous centre.

In far-flung reaches of the island are the grand suite hotels, the Four Seasons, Maia and Banyan Tree, each vying to provide the most luxurious, private suite experience ever. These are a worthy destination in their own right, or at least merit a stop-over while on Mahe before moving on to a more remote, private island.

The main islands of Mahe, Praslin and La Digue are characterised by the granite rocks from which they are formed, creating impressive rocky peaks at their centre, and softened boulder sculptures around each coast. Images of these boulders on pristine beaches have become iconic of the Seychelles. In reality all the beaches in the Seychelles are public beaches, and invariably you will have to go futher afield if you want to have a beach to yourself!

AT A GLANCE

other parks

Ephelia: We stayed at Ephelia on Mahe this Easter, with our children. The absolute bliss of this place is that everything is beautifully done; from buffet breakfast to iced water on the beach. The children loved the zip lines, through the forest, and the beach was fabulous. A great family holiday hotel, and a superb start to our Seychelles adventure.